01” Xl cruise lights up but not engage

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CleverNDGuy

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Been reading on forum a lot last 2yrs and it's been a great help.finally I have hit a wall without a solution.

I searched the archives and only see issues for 07' cruise problem.

My cruise light illuminates and all 3 brake lights work but cruise won't engage.just last week it was working going down the highway and then it disengaged and hasn't engaged since.

Just want to know where I should start with the description of events.
 

ScottyBoy

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Do you have LED bulbs in your brake lights? or do you have LED tails? If so, that is the problem. It's been on many forums, even though they light up and work, it's not enough of a "load" for the cruise control to actually see the lights working. There's been quite a few people on here and other forums who simply put the stock bulbs back in and the cruise started working again just fine.
 
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CleverNDGuy

CleverNDGuy

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No led i have the barn doors so had to satisfy myself with Hid headlights,plate ,tag,puddle and interiors only.

Ok so you guys are telling me all things considered even though all 3 brake lights are working the switch is malfunctioning....ok does it have to be replaced or can the switch be serviced/cleaned?
 

HiHoeSilver

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ScottyBoy

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Ok, so if you don't have LEDs, then I would lean towards the brake light switch as others have mentioned. When I used to install remote starts and alarms for a living, I would sometimes come across trucks like this. I think I dealt with 4 or 5 of them over the years. The brake lights actually worked fine and functioned normally. But for some reason there is a slight amount of voltage backfeeding on the brake light wire at the switch. It was enough that the remote start sensed it as the brake pedal was being depressed. Most of them I turned them away and told the customer that I could not install it until they get the brake light switch fixed. One of these was a friend of mine and I basically rigged up a relay to the brake light switch to completely isolate the brake light wire from the alarm. So it didn't see any voltage at all until the brake pedal was depressed and then the relay was triggered. It actually worked great, but he complained that he heard the relay clicking EVERY time he pressed the brake pedal. I told him he could either deal with the relay clicking, or do without the remote start, or else replace the brake light switch. I'm not saying that this is your issue, but I was just telling you the story of my experience dealing with this issue. So that being said, a relay would not work in your situation because you are not adding an aftermarket accessory, the cruise control is already part of the vehicle and no real easy way to isolate it. So I would try another way to test this theory. If you unplugged the brake light switch and it IS your problem, then theoretically the cruise control should work with the brake light switch unplugged. But be warned, driving on a public road with no brake lights can not only get you a ticket, it's actually dangerous. One more way would be to wire in a toggle switch and basically shut it off instead of unplugging it. But I have no idea how the cruise control senses the brake lights. You might need to wire every wire to a toggle switch instead of just the actual brake light wire.
Have you metered the brake light wire to see what the voltage is when the pedal is depressed, and what the voltage is when it's not pressed down? That's actually where I would start.
 
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CleverNDGuy

CleverNDGuy

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Up early and it was cool out had a cup of ice coffee and took the switch off buffed the terminals with the dremel wire wheel put it back and still no cruise. Did notice a pointy type stalagmite on the far left open set of terminals that I knocked off with the dremel.

Anyhow have the part on hold at the local parts store 13.00bucks.

Scottyboy i understood you logic about unplugging the Switch ,but it's not an option FOr Me I Drive Above Everyone Daily And majority Of People Are Doing A Lot More Than Just Driving. I live in a high drag area surely someone will run into me if I took a chance Hahaa.

Should cool off here in 4 hrs i will drop new switch in and see what happens then.
 

ScottyBoy

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$13 for a new switch isn't bad at all. My friend supposedly priced one and they were like $75. But this was also over 10 years ago as well, so if that was the price I can easily see how prices can drop over time.
 

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